Long view taken on sewer connections

Property owners in the Stewart’s Creek sewer project area could have as long as 20 years to connect to the system under a policy adopted by the Barnstable Board of Health Feb. 12.

TBP

David Still II photo

UNRELATED, BUT HELPFUL – A long-awaited culvert replacement project to improve the flow between Stewarts Creek and Hyannis Harbor started three weeks ago. Pumps are working around the clock to maintain the flow of water out of the creek and keeping it out of the work area. Ocean Avenue is expected to be closed through May.

20-year formula adopted

Property owners in the Stewart’s Creek sewer project area could have as long as 20 years to connect to the system under a policy adopted by the Barnstable Board of Health Feb. 12.

As adopted, those with newer systems will have 20 years, less the age of their system, to connect. For example, a property owner with a five-year-old Title 5 system will be required to connect in 15 years.

This formula method was introduced at the Jan. 14 meeting, with a couple variations.

As with anything, there are exceptions. Systems that pre-date the 1996 changes to Title 5, exist with environmental variances will need to be replaced within two years, 60-days for failed systems. Connection also will be required when a property is transferred.

It’s estimated that 60 percent of the properties in the Stewarts Creek project are or will be required to connect within two years.

"I think the whole thing was done wrong and we weren't able to answer the questions,” board member Dr. Paul Canniff said, later adding, "What I'm going to consider is what's the best thing for the people."

Health director Tom McKean said in a polling of staff, five favored the 20-year formula, one favored a 15-year formula and two suggested hooks-ups not be required until a system fails.

The costs to connect properties to the system fall to property owners. These are separate and distinct from the betterment charges that help pay for construction of the project. Connection fees will vary from property to property and are expected to range from $4,000 to $8,000 in contractors’ fees.

As an incentive to connect, the DPW is waiving its own $420 connection fee for first two years.

Attorney Paul Revere III said he was hired by “a couple of people in the neighborhood" to express their concerns about the connection policy. Chief among them was that the policy is not a regulation

“Policies are nice things, but boards of health act by way of regulation and that's the way they are supposed to act,” Revere said. His concern was that policies can change and do not “have a legal impact on other departments.”

Revere also asked that the board clearly identify to which projects the policy applies; otherwise it would appear to apply to all sewer connections.

“This is a substantial cost here,” Revere told the board. “This is not Oyster Harbors. This is not a high-income area not a high-value area.”

Board of Health Chairman Dr. Wayne Miller said that while there is a connection regulation on the town’s books, it does not speak to a connection schedule, which is what the policy seeks to create. He added that an adopted policy was recommended by the town attorney’s office.

Miller also announced that an ombudsman capable of answering all questions related to connection, regardless of departmental responsibility, will be on board by April 1. He said that was a commitment made by Town Manager Tom Lynch.

Communications with residents and property owners about the sewer project has been a sore spot.

In a recent interview with Assistant Town Manager Mark Ells, who served as DPW director through much of the sewer project, he acknowledged that communication with residents could have been better. Ells met with residents early on in the project, sometimes weekly, and believed he was responsive to the questions raised that related to public works. He said he traveled to Boston with some of the affected property owners in 2010 to speak on legislation to provide low- to no-interest loans for sewer projects.

Ells said that it’s in the town’s interest to ensure the integrity of the system and project because it owns and is responsible for the pipes in the ground.

Some of those property owners see it differently, learning more about the project’s timing and cost through press reports.

Ells said that the town will learn from that experience, as this is expected to be the first of a new round of sewer expansion projects in the coming years. While unrelated to the sewer project, the town is providing weekly updates on the progress of the culvert replacement project to improve the creek’s tidal flow.

Stewarts Creek was identified as a problem area for depth to groundwater and other non-nutrient issues long before the heightened attention to nitrogen pollution to the Cape’s estuaries.

The full policy can be found at www.town.barnstable.ma.us/HealthDivision Stewarts Creek betterments recorded

The final betterment liens for the Stewarts Creek sewer project were recorded at the Barnstable Registry of Deeds last week.

The total amount to be raised through betterments is $2,158,842.24, which represents half of the total project amount. For property owners, this represents $7,495.98 per dwelling unit.

That’s lower than the “not to exceed” amount recorded in April 2011 of $8,340.

The town is covering the remaining 50 percent through a sewer construction fund, which is funded with the additional local meals and rooms taxes authorized by the town council in 2010. The special legislation required to dedicate those funds for the sewer account was approved last August as the Legislature ended its session.

The Stewarts Creek project, along with the new pump station on West Main Street, benefited from the 2008 federal stimulus program as “shovel ready projects.” The town received an 11.7 percent loan subsidy, good for roughly $1.1 million off its $9.78 million interest-free loan from the Massachusetts Water Pollution Abatement Trust.